100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 57, Lone Star Dog at James Coney Island

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once.

No list of 100 best dishes in Houston would be complete without a hot dog from James Coney Island, one of the city's oldest and most storied restaurants. While the original location that the Papadakis brothers opened in 1923 at the corner of Walker and Main is now closed, their hot dog and chili legend lives on across the city.

Last year, it was the classic Houstonian combo that made our 100 Favorite Dishes list. This year, James Coney Island introduced a line of new hot dogs at its Shepherd location that feature something different than its standard franks and buns: Three specialty hot dogs using all-beef Hebrew National franks on Houston-baked Slow Dough Bread Co. buns.

There are Baja (avocado, chipotle mayonnaise and red onions) and Empire (sauerkraut, spicy mustard and grilled onions) dogs on the specialty menu, but the Lone Star dog is my favorite.

Topped simply with tangy, sweet barbecue sauce and battered slices of onion rings, the Lone Star dog is nestled into a buttery bun that holds up until the very last bite. Being a Texan, I like to top mine with yellow mustard and jalapeños too -- but it tastes just as good without any extras.

My Texas twist on the lobster roll is fresh lobster on an HEB handmade flour tortilla, dipped in butter. I never eat hot dogs, ok almost. Had to grill a couple on Wednesday the Fourth, a Nathan's from the Kroger deli on Thursday that had sat too long, but quite edible, and for dessert, on Friday, my favorites, two James Coney Island original, no onions. Five dogs in four days, that will last until Labor Day.

We tried this. The dough to meat ratio was off. We're trying, slowly, to see if we can ever get this off the ground, but hopefully we will.
As to the Lone Star Dog, I believe they are now at all locations. I know The Woodlands location has them.